Sen. Vitter Crashes the Gate; Gets Himself Investigated by Transportation Security Administration

by Damozel | Senator Vitter -- yes, that Senator Vitter -- wasn't happy when he arrived at the gate 20 minutes before departure time to find the gate had already closed.  Unlike you and me, he wasn't satisfied just to chew the leg of some hapless (but no doubt richly deserving) airport employee. (Come on, who doesn't hate airport personnel?) Roll Call reported:

According to a [Heard on the Hill] tipster who witnessed the scene, the Louisiana Republican arrived Thursday evening at his United Airlines gate 20 minutes before the plane was scheduled to depart, only to find the gate had already been closed. Undeterred, Vitter opened the door, setting off a security alarm and prompting an airline worker to warn him that entering the gate was forbidden.

Vitter, our spy said, gave the airline worker an earful, employing the timeworn “do-you-know-who-I-am” tirade that apparently grew quite heated.

That led to some back and forth, and the worker announced to the irritable Vitter that he was going to summon security.

Vitter, according to the witness, remained defiant, yelling that the employee could call the police if he wanted to and their supervisors, who, presumably, might be more impressed with his Senator’s pin.  (Roll Call)

On the other hand, they might not have been.   And as Roll Call notes, other pols who become overly truculent with airline personnel  So Vitter prudently decided not to wait and find out. 

But after talking a huffy big game, Vitter apparently thought better of pushing the confrontation any further. When the gate attendant left to find a security guard, Vitter turned tail and simply fled the scene. (Roll Call)

Now -- having apparently weathered "Hookergate" -- Vitter is being investigated by the Transportation Security Administration.  (Hotline on Call)

"We will be reviewing the alleged incident," Lauren Gaches, a TSA spokeswoman, told On Call this evening....

A spokeswoman at the airport authority that runs Dulles Airport told the Times-Picayune that she doubts a police report was filed about the incident, and the airline did not comment on the report.

But Gaches told On Call that TSA can look into the Vitter event even if a police report was not filed.

Such incidents are evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and officials would not speculate about general fines or punishments imposed for attempting to enter a jetway already closed to the public. (Hotline on Call)

In the Louisiana Times-Picayune, Sen Vitter denied that the incident was as fraught with drama as the HoH operative made it sound.

"After being delayed on the Senate floor ensuring a vote on my anti-pay-raise amendment and in a rush to make my flight home for town hall meetings the next day, I accidentally went through a wrong door at the gate," Vitter said in a statement. "I did have a conversation with an airline employee, but it was certainly not like this silly gossip column made it out to be."

James Oliphant -- not nearly as sympathetic as he might have been -- chortlingly points out that it's been a bad week all round for Sen Vitter.

It hasn't been the best of times for Vitter. On Tuesday, he was outmaneuvered on the Senate floor over an amendment to do away with automatic cost-of-living raises for senators, which was deftly recounted by the Post's Dana Milbank here.

And Democrats have not been slow to make the most of it.  CNN reports:

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee is putting heat on Louisiana Sen. David Vitter for a reported run-in with a Dulles Airport employee last Thursday as he scrambled to make a flight back to his home state.

“Sooner or later Senator Vitter should learn how to control himself,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Eric Schultz, in an apparent reference to the Louisiana Republican's past involvement with Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the so-called "DC Madam."

At FDL, Watertiger is very mean:

[T]he TSA isn't as cavalier about breaches of airport security as Mr. "Let's Arm Airline Pilots" Vitter.  The agency has initiated an investigation of the Senator's actions.  Looks like Vitter's infantile hissy fit could cost him a year's supply of hookers and diaper rash cream.

More at Memeorandum

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Comments

[billkav]

Next time I'm stuck at the airport, maybe I should try this technique. I'm sure the, "Do you know who I am?" line will help.

Hopefully, the TSA will treat Vitter the same way they would treat any of us. ;)